I can't wait for all the external broadcasters to run out money and shut down their operations. I was an avid SWL back in the days when the broadcasts were controversial but now it's just crap. The faster they drop off of 40 meters the better. My Hallicrafter SX-110 now serves as a platform for my tube collection now.

I used to be a SWL from 1974 to 2004 more or less, mainly on the tropical bands (90 and 60 m) which for me were the most exciting bands. Today they are practically dead . I think that medium wave and longwave dx-ing is probably the most interesting listening activity today. These bands are becoming less crowdeded and open interesting possibilities. I read that european longwave stations are routinely received in the US, likewiseAM US and SA stations are being received in Europe. Non-directional-beacon NDB DX-ing has also many adepts. Another interesting DX-ing is Navtex. Paradoxically one can have excellent antennas for LW and MW in little space, like loops and the PA0RDT miniwhip. A good place to get serious up-to-date information is CumbreDx on Yahoo groups.

The problem today is most programming is canned. If you want to hear a person live I recommend AM talk radio. For sw Alex Jones is live afternoons 12160, nights 4840 (taped).

For best music I'd say Havana Cuba, 5025. For great African music Afrique No 1. African music is classy and creative unlike rap music as are many African people.

The best way to listen to shortwave today is use Tune In. Just find foreign stations under location.My favorite is Cherie FM in Paris. French pop music is nothing like junk you have here. In fact pop music doesn't really exist any longer here. That's why so many stations play music from the 60s to 80s over and over.

The problem today is most programming is canned. If you want to hear a person live I recommend AM talk radio. For sw Alex Jones is live afternoons 12160, nights 4840 (taped).

For best music I'd say Havana Cuba, 5025. For great African music Afrique No 1. African music is classy and creative unlike rap music as are many African people.

The best way to listen to shortwave today is use Tune In. Just find foreign stations under location.My favorite is Cherie FM in Paris. French pop music is nothing like junk you have here. In fact pop music doesn't really exist any longer here. That's why so many stations play music from the 60s to 80s over and over.

I sometimes listen to the local "pop music" station here in Sacramento, "Hot 103.5" (KHHM-FM). Lot of really bad quality, feminized rap, with lots of words bleeped out. The most tolerable time to listen is during the dance/party mix shows, Liftoff Mix at 5pm M-Th, All Star Mix Show from 5pm to 2am Fri. The DJs are modestly capable considering what they have to work with.

I never dreamed that rap and hip hop would still be popular in 2014 back when I was a teen in the early 90s, I'll say. It even isn't good rap, but really dumb stuff about certain types of sex acts (keeping in mind that all sorts of people are reading, I'll leave it at that), and talk about having lots of money, and references to prostitution and strippers. Every so often a talented female singer will pop up, like a woman called Jasmine B, who recently performed in Roseville.

The weird thing is, it used to be that every few years we'd have a new style of music pop up, but music in the US seems to have stagnated. I'm not sure why, although it may have to do with "helicopter parenting" and the insistence of schools on absolute conformity and dumping art and music programs in favor of an emphasis on standardized testing.

One would have thought that after the Great Recession that adolescent rage would be pouring out of every radio in the country, but nope. Look at the post-Cold War economic problems in the US, you had grunge rock and a revival of punk and hardcore, angry ghetto rap like gangsta rap and "conscious" rap (political themes). It's really sad, the system seems to have beaten rebellion out of today's youth, all they're interested in is social one-upmanship and doing dope and binge drinking until their brains cook.

The reason there hasn't been a "new style" of music hit it big recently probably has more to do with the heavy fragmentation of the music industry -- and the decline in the importance of radio as a music delivery system -- than anything else. Most young people I know don't even listen to radio. they listen to Spotify and Pandora.

RE Shortwave: Voice of Greece is about the only station I'll tune into to hear the music. When Vividh Bharati comes in, I'll listen to it. Sometimes Radio Nacional Da Amazonia, but lately when I tune in I've just been hearing sports, and not knowing much Portuguese, it's difficult to follow the action...

IF RNZ or R. Australia have an interesting program, I'll listen to them, also. Generally those two SW stations have had really good quality programs over the years.

I've been having fun with hf fax. There isn't much fax any longer but you can see weather fax transmissions using Fldigi software. Below is a page with still available wefax transmissions. I'd try USCG Boston and New Orleans first during evening hours. Boston is 9110 khz. Press non stop button to start print scroll. Center frequency will be about 9108.1 (center frequency is always -1.9 khz from stated frequency). Align right line on visible wefax stream. Good luck!

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